Those were the days my friend: Tea Centre, Churchgate, Mumbai

The overall look is the same. It still has this old Calcutta Club look. Very non Bombay.

The walls have been painted, the cobwebs and peeling paint have gone, the bells on the table are still there but seem newer, the bathrooms have got a makeover and seem less like the Churchgate station loos and there are cheerful posters instead of the earlier Government ministry like pictures of tea gardens

The range of ice teas have been drastically reduced. Apparently because they 'take more time'. The innovative ice tea cocktails have been replaced by synthetic, sugary, ice teas. A big thumbs down

A couple of us tries the honey apple butter tea. It was lovely. But I don't think it was as cloudy earlier

The dishes were quite good though the service was as slow as ever. We were told that continental dishes take more time than Indian dishes. A good thing to remember in the future. But the wait was worth it as Chicken Roller (sic), Thai curry, Shepherd's pie found favour with the foodies at our table

The scones are still there though they seemed a bit crusty. One of our lunchmates who has grown up in England said that the original scones are fluffier and larger

A lot of the staff are the same - though the white liveried uniforms have been replaced by a boring black with no turbans

Some of the pluses remain - quaint setting, reasonable prices, a mix of continental and Indian which helps when you are in a large group as we were.

But something was missing for me. Would I recommend it? Yes. Would I rhapsodise about it again? No!

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